Sadiron



Nov.6, 1934. A E, REMERS 1,979,574

SADIRON V Filed Feb. '17, 1934 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR lfmd E.Rez'nwns BY (L19 @94 I ATTQR EYS NOV. 6, 1934. RElMERs Q 1,979,574

SADIRON Filed Feb. 17, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR uglfma .Rez'mematented Nov. 6, 1934 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE '7 Claims.

My invention relates to steam iron constructions of the type in which anelectric heatin element is employed to superheat the steam or maintainthe temperature thereof.

Many such sad irons have been devised which, for the purpose of settingforth the principal object of this invention, may be divided into twoclasses, namely: those in which the steam passages arecored or drilledin a one piece base; and those in which the steam passages are formed bytwo or more complementary base portions assembled together by means ofbolts or screws.

The advantages of the assembled base constructions mentioned are, in,addition to economics in production, that tortuous passages may beobtained which assist in breaking up the water vapor carried by thesteam and provide a greater surface area of heated metal in contact withthe steam passing thru the iron, thereby obtaining a thoroughsuperheating of the steam in order to insure that it will be dischargedat thev pressing surface in a dry condition. When long tortuous passagesare employed, these constructions also obtain a more even temperature ofdischarging steam and, therefore, safely permit of a comparatively lowtemperature pressing surfacehighly desirable in pressing certain classesof material, such as the new rayons, celonese, etc. However, as comparedwith the onepiece base constructions, I have found theassembled bases tohave certain serious disadvantages, principal among which is leakage ofsteam between or from the steam passages due to relative expansion andcontraction of the parts; also I have found that the one piece baseconducts heat more emciently from the heating element to the pressingsurface of the iron than do the assembled parts, particularly if agasket or other 4% such packing is inserted between the parts in aneifort to obtain a tight Joint. This better conduction by. the one piecebase conserves heat.

It is the principal object of my present invention, therefore, toprovide an improved electric steam iron in which the advantages of bothtypes of base construction are combined and their disadvantagesobviated.

A further object is to provide an improved W electric steam iron havingtortuous steam passages therein so arranged that the steam may beappreciably superheated in certain of the passages before it isintroduced into other passages from which it is discharged at thepressing surface of the iron, and means for regulating and controllingthe fiow of steam between such passages. Other and further objects willappear from the following specification.

Referring to the drawings which form a part of this specification:

Figure 1 is a. side elevational view of a sad iron embodying thefeatures of my invention,

and

Figure 2 is a plan view thereof.

Figure 3 is a view in partial section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2 andillustrates the valve structure employed to regulate and control theflow of steam between the passages.

Figure 4 is an inverted plan view of the up-' per plate portion of myimproved unit base construction.

Figure 5 is a plan view of'the means employed to integrate the upper andlower plate portions of the base construction.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the lower plate portion of the unit baseconstruction. v

Figure '7 is a fragmental sectional view illustrating the manner inwhich the upper and lower plate portions of the base are integrated, theintegrating means being shown on a greatly B0 exaggerated scale, and

Figure 8 is a similar view illustrating the unified base structure.

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken on line 9-9 of Figure 3.

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken on line 1010 of Figure 9, and

Figure 11 is a sectional view taken on line ll11 of Figure 2.

Figure 12 is a plan view of the base unit, and

Figure 13 is an inverted plan view thereof.

-The iron comprises a base unit 15 formed of two integrated plateportions, the upper portion 16 of which is recessed over an area 17 toreceive an electric heating element, not shown. The lower plate portion18 provides the pressing surface 19 of the iron and is recessed on itsopposite face'to define the bottom andside walls of two tortuouspassages, 20 and 21-respectively, as shown in Figure 6. A plurality ofsmall drilled passages, 22-22 etc., are also formed in the lower plateportion and extend from portions of the bottom wall of the passage 21 tothe pressing surface 19.

Formed as above described, the plates 16 and 18 are integrated to obtaina metallic bond between all the unrecessed portions ofthe upper surfaceof plate18 and corresponding portions of the lower plane surface ofplate 16. By this construction a base unit is obtained (as illustratedin Figures 12 and 13) having tortuous steam passages formed internallytherein between and from which there is no possibility of leakage. Asthus constructed-the unit 15 may be most conveniently handled and dealtwith in the course of further assembling the iron, and in use serves toconduct heat very efficiently from the heating element of the iron tothe pressing surface thereof.

To unify the plates 16 and 18, I prefer to employ a brazing method inwhich a thin layer of spelter metal 23. (approximately .01 inch inthickness) is clamped between the plates, after the application of asuitable flux, and the parts thus assembled subjected to a temperaturesufficient to melt the spelter and thus fuse the plates together. Thismethod is illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 in which the spelter .metal isto the fusing temperature of the spelter' material.

Heretofore, where it has been attempted to form steam passages in sadirons by means of recesses in separate complementary base portions,packing of metal or fibre has been depended upon to prevent leakage offluid from the iron and between the passages, the partsbeing heldtogether by bolts or other such devices. These constructions have beenuniformly impractical because when the iron is heated, the base portionsexpand, thus compressing the intermediate packing and, when the ironcools, the packing is no longer tight. Thereafter, when fluid isintroduced into the passages, leakage occurs. Such leakage may occurwithin the iron between the passages, in which case it cannot beobserved but the efiiciency of the iron is nevertheless greatly reducedbecause of it.

It will be noted that all such difficulties are overcome in the presentconstruction which precludes the possibility of any leakage whatever,either from the iron or between the passages, or between the walls of asingle tortuous passage, and that the necessity for packing as well asfor securing devices is entirely obviated.

A drilled passage 25 is formed in the base unit adjacent the butt end ofthe iron to conduct steam from a detachable supply line 251 into theadjacent end of the tortuous passage 20, thru which the steam may flowin the direction indicated to the other end thereof, and

'- thence thru an angularly drilled passage 26 ,to

a valve 27, the casing 28 of which is securely attached to the base unitas shown in Figure 9.

The valve 27 is of conventional cone construction and is operable bymeans of a lever 29 to 4 control the flow of steam from the passage 203535 are drilled and their walls threaded to receive removable closurepieces 36--36 such as the Allen head screws illustrated. As employed inthe subject construction, the bores 35 may be extended to provide aconnecting part 21 of the steam passage 21, as illustrated in Figure 6.

A cover 40 serves to enclose the electric heating element in the recess17 of the base, is perforate to accommodate the electric terminalsconnected in attachment plug 41, and carries a heat regulating switch42. This cover, together with the iron handle 43, are securely attachedto the base unit by means of machine screws 4444, as will be readilyunderstood.

If desired, the cover 40 may be integrated with the base in the samemanner as the base plates 16 and 18 are unified with the advantage thatheat absorbed by the cover from the heating element will be moreperfectly conducted to the base and thus further conserve heat. When soconstructed, the body portion of the iron, in this respect, issubstantially the equivalent of the well known one piece body portionshaving their heating elements cast in. However, there is an oifsettingadvantage in having the heating element readily accessible for repair orrenewal and I therefore prefer to construct the iron as illustrated andheretofore described.

In use the heating element is placed in operation and steam flowing thruthe supply line 24 is led into the tortuous passage 20 thru passage 25and thereafter follows the course indicated in Figure 6 by the arrows.During its flow .thru the long passage 20, the steam is appreci ablysuperheated and any water vapor carried by the steam is broken up, byreason of the pressure under which it flow against the twisting passagewalls, and is converted into steam. The steam then flows thru theangular passage 26 to the valve 2'7 in a hot and substantially drycondition before it is introduced into the tortuous passage 21 thru thepassages 30 and 31.

Positioned as described, the valve is operable to control the dischargeof steam from the passage 20 rather than the introduction of steam intothe iron as has heretofore been the parctice, and by its use the steammay be held in the passage 20 for a variable time by the operator toinsure that steam flowing from the iron will be discharged at a propertemperature, depending upon the character of the material being pressed.In flowing thru the passage 21, the temperature of the steam ismaintained or further slightly superheated and discharges at thepressing surface of the iron thru the outlets 22-22 etc.

It will be noted that the passage 31 is somewhat enlarged incommunication with the wider entering end of passage 21. Thisfacilitates relative positioning of the plates 16 and 18 and provides arelatively large heated wall area in contact with the steam immediatelyafter it passes thru the valve 27'to insure that any possible moistureremaining will be converted into steam.

To clean out the passages, the closures 36 are removed and a suitablefluid detergent introduced to evacuate. any solids thru the ports 35.

Although I prefer to introduce steam into the iron thru the supply line24, as heretofore described, I have discovered in using the ironthat byreason of the long heating passage 20 and the conservation of heatobtained by the integrated base construction, water led into the ironthru the supply line is satisfactorily com 50 verted into steam with theiron and that steam so generated attains a temperature before dischargesatisfactory for many classes of pressing work.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A sad iron having a base formed with a pressing surfaceon itsunderside and comprising two plates faced together, one of said plateshaving its facing surface recessed to define a plurality of connectedsteam passages, and means affording a metallic bond between theunrecessed portions thereof with the other plate whereby the plates areintegrated, and means for leading fluid into said passages, said basehaving a plurality of steam discharge outlets formed therein leadingdirectly from one of said passages to said pressing surface.

2. A sad iron having a base formed with a pressing surface on itsunderside and comprising two plates faced together, one of said plateshaving its facing surface recessed to define a tortuous steam passage,and means affording a metallic bond between theunrecessed portionsthereof with the other plate whereby the plates are integrated, andmeans for leading fluid into said passage, said base having a pluralityof steam discharge outlets formed therein leading directly from saidpassage to said pressing surface.

3. A sad iron having a base formed with a pressing surface on itsunderside and comprising two plates faced togethe one of said plateshaving its facing surface recessed to define a tortuous steam e, andmeans affording a metallic bond between the unrecessed portions thereofwith the other plate whereby the plates are integrated, saidmeans-comprising a layer of spelter metal fused between the plates, and

means for leading 'fluid into said passage. said base having a pluralityof steam discharge outlets formed therein leading directly from saidpassage to said pressing surface.

4.Asadironhavingabaseformedwitha pressing surface on its underside andcomprising two plates faced together and complementsage, said basehaving a plurality of steam discharge outlets formed therein leadingdirectly from the dischargepassage to said pressing surface, and aheater for heating the base.

5. A sad iron having a base formed with a pressing surface on itsunderside and comprising a lower plate having its upper surface recessedto define a tortuous steam passageand an upper plate extending over theupper surface-of said lower plate whereby said recess is closed to formsaid passage, and means aifording a metallic bond between the unrecessedportions of the upper surface of said lower plate and correspondingportions of the lower surface of the upper plate whereby said plates areintegrated to provide a leakproof construction, and means for leadingfluid intosaid passage, said base having a plurality of steam dischargeoutlets formed therein leading directly from said passage to saidpressing surface.

6. A sad iron having a base formed with a pressing surface on itsunderside and comprising a lower plate having its upper surface recessedto define a tortuous preheating passage and a tortuous discharge passageand an upper plate extending over the upper surface of the lower platewhereby said recesses are closed to form said passages, and meansaffording a metallic bond between the unrecessed portions of the uppersurface of the lower plate and corresponding portions of the lowersurface of the upper plate whereby said plates are integrated to providea leakproof construction, said means comprising a layer of spelter metalfused between the plates, means for leading fluid into the superheatingpassage, means for leading fluid from the superheating passage into thedischarge passage, said base having a plurality of steam dischargeoutlets formed therein leading directly from the discharge e to saidpressing surface, and a heater for heating the base.

7. A sad iron having a pressing surface and a fluid heating unit, saidunit comprising complementary plates faced together to form a tortuouspassage interiorly between them, and means aflording a metallic bondbetween thefacing surfaces of said plates whereby they are integrated toprovide a leakproof construction, means for leading fluid into said e,means for leading fluid from said e to said pressing surface, and aheater for said unit.

